Cruise line excursions for wheelchair users

[Peter Lanky]

I have yet to cruise but I have a couple booked, one of which includes all excursions, and the other where I have some onboard credit to pay for them. Normally I would have no intention for paying for my own excursions as I consider them grossly overpriced, and would make my own arrangement where practical.

 

Now to the selection of them. On both lines I am looking at (Azamara and Silversea) nearly all excursions say they are unsuitable for wheelchairs, wheelchairs are not permitted or wheelchairs are not recommended. It is not unusual for all the excursions at a particular port to fall under one of these categories.

 

So how are wheelchair users expected to have a reasonable choice of excursions?

How to cruise lines address the problem when challenged by disabled cruisers?

How have other cruisers dealt with the issue?

[FOPMan]

It can most certainly be challenging. There’s not a lot of support provided. The laws of the country you are visiting prevail regarding accessibility, and most/many countries do not regulate or enforce accessibility requirements where they do exist. St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, both of which are US, are examples where there are rules on the books but have highly variable enforcement.

 

I’ve found the accessibility department not really interested in excursion issues. Probably since excursions are usually operated by third parties and getting information and/or modifications are hard.

 

it would be great if there were a change.

[GeezerCouple]

 

If your excursions are already included/paid for, then the following won't be particularly helpful.

 

We always arrange private excursions.  For some of them, such as chartering a large catamaran for the day, we typically find a few others on our Roll Call to share the costs.  That makes it less expensive than anything similar the cruiseline would have offered, and with a smaller group.  Other times, it's just the two of us.

 

We don't need a wheelchair, but I do need to rest frequently, and walk slowly.  So that won't work for a group outing.  We'd either get left behind or slow everyone else down, neither of which is acceptable.  So, again, a private tour.  This also allows us to customize, to spend more time at A and less at B, etc., or to add C instead of B... Most operators are very easy to work with, and some have suggestions ("If you prefer C, maybe you'd like to see D also?")

 

They typically ask about mobility, wheelchair needs, etc., once we raise the issue at all.

 

This is unfortunately a reason we don't tend to sail on "all inclusive" lines.  We also don't drink much liquor; "fine wine" is our choice, and that's usually not included.  So we'd be paying for the beverages we don't drink and excursions we don't use.  Otherwise, some of those nicer lines would probably be of great interest to us. 😞 

 

GC